Western Australian athletes who represented our State and our nation with pride have today united to celebrate the efforts and success of our Tokyo 2020 campaign with a special reception at Government House.
Co-hosted by the Hon. Kim Beazley AC, Governor of Western Australian and Premier Mark McGowan the event saw 150 athletes, officials, sports organisations and State Government representatives come together in the Government House Forecourt.
50 Olympians and 15 Paralympians joined the celebrations, the first time they have come together en masse since returning to Western Australia.
It was a successful games for our WA Olympic team, winning 11 medals across both team and individual events including rowing, swimming, sailing, hockey, basketball and track.
The 24 WA athletes in the Paralympic team equalled our highest-ever number of representatives. WA Paralympic athletes took home 5 medals across swimming, athletics and discus events.
Today’s reception was a chance for the Governor and the Premier to publicly thank our WA Olympians and Paralympians for their unrelenting dedication to their sport, and for their determination to succeed despite the added challenges of COVID on the road to Tokyo 2020.
As stated by Premier Mark McGowan:
“To see Western Australia have its second highest representation of athletes at the Tokyo Olympics and the highest ever at a Paralympic Games is an amazing achievement.
“Our Western Australian Olympians and Paralympians did not just display the Olympic spirit, they took it to another level.
“In a time when both the country and the world needed a morale-boosting dose of goodwill, our teams provided inspiration to us all.
“The outstanding performances of Western Australian athletes in Tokyo and the diverse number of sports they participated in demonstrates the importance of funding allocated by the WA Government to the WA Institute of Sport to ensure our elite athletes are given every opportunity to reach their full potential on the international stage.
“I congratulate all of our Western Australian athletes for their outstanding performance and welcome them all home.”
As stated by the Hon. Kim Beazley AC, Governor of Western Australia:
“On behalf of all Western Australians I congratulate our Olympic and Paralympic Games medal winners and every athlete who competed in the Tokyo 2020 Games.
“The Tokyo 2020 games will go down in history not only for the spectacular competition, but also for the journey it took to get there, the incredible sportsmanship and the global community coming together.”
Still photos available via dropbox link. Please photo credit Matt Jelonek.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/tb0u509l8a8fwzz/AADPQWJr2qbILVjoS8QlDxGoa?dl=0
